Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine has introduced a way to mitigate the dangerous condition of corrosion under insulation (CUI) with its new line of Heat-Flex^® CUI-mitigation coatings. The line includes Heat-Flex^® ACE (Advanced CUI Epoxy), which is an ultra-high-solids epoxy novolac developed with a functional chemical enhancement for CUI mitigation. The coating performs the best at mitigating CUI out of any other formulation available. In addition, three coatings featuring a high concentration of micaceous iron oxide (MIO) pigment round out the lineup, including Heat-Flex 750, Heat-Flex 1200 Plus and Heat-Flex 650. The MIO-enhanced coatings offer significantly improved CUI-mitigation performance compared to similar formulations currently on the market.

“The battle against CUI is never-ending, as coated steel encapsulated in insulation will inevitably corrode over time. Our goal is to mitigate that corrosion process for as long as possible, and we’ve developed some high-performance coatings that enable just that,” said Mark Rubio, Energy Business Manager, Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine. “For example, Heat-Flex ACE is the best product we’ve tested for long-term CUI mitigation. We anticipate it becoming a preferred specification solution as the industry gains experience with this enhanced CUI-mitigation system. We have also boosted the market’s CUI-mitigation capabilities for existing specifications with the three MIO-enhanced Heat-Flex coatings.”

All four Heat-Flex CUI-mitigation coatings have passed extensive lab testing, showing good to excellent performance in a variety of tests. These tests included various heat cycling, simulated CUI, BS EN 927-6:2016 erosion and dry film thickness (DFT) tolerance testing for thermal resistivity performed on all coatings, as well as cryogenic testing performed on the MIO-enhanced coatings. Heat-Flex 750, Heat-Flex 1200 Plus and Heat-Flex ACE also showed excellent results following ISO 12944-9 CX cyclic anticorrosion testing. In addition, Heat-Flex ACE showed exceptional results in a series of CUI simulation tests performed in accordance with ISO TM21442 in excess of 204 °C (400 °F).

For more information about the entire Heat-Flex lineup of CUI-mitigation coatings, visit https://industrial.sherwin-williams.com/na/us/en/protective-marine/resources-downloads/oil-and-gas-resources/heatflex-corrosion-under-insulation-coatings.html.